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Author Notes:Somewhat of a personal take on the traditional French dessert/breakfast/midnight snack, I like to bake my clafoutis in a buttery short crust to make it more of a composed dessert. Use pretty much any fruit you have lying around, but I tend to stick to berries and cherries, since they lend less of their own juice than others. The custard is courtesy of Belinda Leong, the mastermind behind San Francisco's beloved b.patisserie. —PieceOfLayerCake

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Serves 10 - 12

Pâte Sucrée

zest of 1 orange

½
cups granulated sugar

½
teaspoons kosher salt

2
cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

8
ounces unsalted butter, soft but cool

1
large egg

½
teaspoons vanilla paste/extract

Combine the orange zest, sugar and salt in a large bowl and work together for a few seconds between your fingers, releasing the oils in the citrus. Add in the flour and toss to incorporate.

Add in the butter and using your fingertips, work between your finger tips, kneading through the flour, until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.

Add in the egg and vanilla paste and gently work the mixture until it comes together into a cohesive dough. If the dough is sticky at all, add flour by the tablespoon or so, gently working in, until the dough is soft but not wet.

Divide the dough in half, form into a rough disk and wrap each tightly in plastic wrap. Chill one disk in the refrigerator for 30 minutes and freeze the other for another use. Kept wrapped, the dough will last up to two months frozen.

Fetch the dough from the refrigerator and unwrap onto a lightly floured work surface. Lightly flour a rolling pin and gently pound out the dough to loosen its structure a bit. Roll it out to a rough 12" circle and form it into a lightly buttered 9", round baking vessel (I like ceramic dishes or stainless steel skillets). Ease the tart crust into the corners of the dish, pressing it up against the sides and trimming off the excess, making it flush with the pan. Using a fork, dock the bottom of the dough 20 or so times. Store the crust in the refrigerator or freezer as the oven preheats, or overnight (wrap in plastic for storage more than a few hours).

Preheat the oven to 375F and arrange a rack to the bottom position. Retrieve the formed tart shell and line with parchment, aluminum foil or a large coffee filter (my personal choice). Fill with pie weights (I use rice) and bake the tart crust for 15 - 20 minutes, or until just set. Remove the pie weights and liner and continue to bake until lightly browned, another 5 - 8 minutes. Allow to cool while you prepare the filling.

Filling

1
cup granulated sugar, plus more for dusting

5
large eggs

1
teaspoon vanilla paste/extract

¾
cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

¾
cups almond meal

1
teaspoon kosher salt

1
cup whole milk

1
cup heavy cream

1
tablespoon amaretto liqueur (optional)

12
ounces fruit (if the fruit is larger, dice into ½" pieces)

½
cups sliced, blanched almonds

confectioners' sugar, for dusting

softly whipped cream, for serving

Preheat the oven to 350F. Arrange a rack to the center position.

Whisk together the sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth. Add in the flour, almond meal and salt and whisk. Whisk in the milk, cream and liqueur and mix until silky and fully combined.

Pour the custard into the prepared tart crust and arrange the fruit on top. I err on the side of rustic arrangement (aka. chucking it on), but if you're more particular, this is the time to exercise presentation skills. Sprinkle the top with the blanched almonds and a couple of tablespoons of sugar.

Bake the clafoutis for 45 - 50 minutes, or until the center of the custard jiggles just slightly, and the edged are lightly brown. Remove the tart from the oven and cool to room temperature set on a wire rack. Store the clafoutis in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

Just before serving, dust the clafoutis with confectioners' sugar, slice and serve with the whipped cream.